Bruce Leslie in the UK

Since you asked….Alamo Colleges’ chancellor Bruce Leslie also took a trip to Ireland last April and to Scotland last November.

The April trip was paid for in part by Northern Ireland’s Learning and Skills Development Agency, which invited Leslie to deliver this presentation about shaping educational programs to meet community demand. Here is an article from the Belfast Telegraph that mentions Leslie’s contribution.

Airfare was covered by the LSDA and the Alamo Colleges picked up $187 for meals and airport parking, according to travel records.

The November trip was paid for in part by the Scottish Furthering Education Unit, the equivalent of the American Association of Community Colleges. Leslie spoke at their annual conference in Glasgow, met with faculty and staff at Anniesland and Cumbernauld Colleges, and addressed the graduating class of Forth Valley College.

For that trip, the Alamo Colleges picked up $790 for lodging, meals and internet and phone charges, according to travel records.

According to Leslie, the district also pays to send faculty abroad to attend conferences or take students on educational trips.

Travel budgets have been cut 30 percent across the board, including at the district level, Leslie said. But that does not mean that no one travels. At each college, presidents have discretion over how to allocate money.

“What (district officials) said is ‘You are going to have to cut that amount from some place,'” Leslie said. “Some of them chose to cut out of travel, some of them chose to cut other places.”

What do you think? Should the Alamo Colleges pay for international travel?